Kumar struck in the very first over when Sadeera Samarawickrama chopped a delivery onto his stumps and was out for 0.

Mohammed Shami then had left-hander Lahiru Thirimanne bowled for one as the visitors slipped to 2/2 in 3.3 overs.

Umesh Yadav, India’s third seamer, joined in by trapping former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews lbw for 12.

The match became even more tense when Shami bowled current skipper Dinesh Chandimal for 20 and Kumar, who returned impressive match figures of 8/96, trapped Niroshan Dickwella lbw for 27.

“He’s grabbing his chances and is a massive contender to start every Test match for India. He’ll do us good in overseas conditions and not just in home conditions,” Kohli said of India’s Man of the Match.

“He’s going to be an important part of our plan going forward in all formats.”

The hosts had resumed the day on 171/1 after Lokesh Rahul (79) and Shikhar Dhawan (94) staged a 166-run opening stand that saw India overcome a 122-run first-innings deficit.